The invention relates to an apparatus and method for slicing food products, especially bagels.
The slicing of bagels and other food products presents several persistent problems which present long standing needs in the art. First of all, numerous injuries are reported each year resulting from accidents during the slicing of bagels. Furthermore, manually slicing bagels by hand frequently results in uneven slices, and is time consuming.
Various proposals have been made attempting to deal with safety, evenness and efficiency with which bagels and other food products can be sliced. Representative of these efforts are U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,431,078, 4,955,271, 4,747,331, 4,649,781, 4,546,686, 4,249,445, and 2,279,376. However, despite the prior efforts in this field, the need remains for an apparatus and method for slicing and cutting bagels wherein safety of the user is ensured, uniform even slices are provided, and the slicing or cutting procedure is automated so as to increase the efficiency with which bagels can be cut.
It is therefore the primary object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for cutting bagels wherein the cutting element is at all times shielded from contact with the hands of a user.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an apparatus for cutting bagels wherein bagels of various sizes are automatically centered with respect to the cutting element.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for cutting bagels wherein the cutting procedure is simple and automated.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for cutting bagels wherein cleaning of the apparatus is facilitated.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a method for cutting bagels which accomplishes the aforedescribed objectives.
Other objects and advantages will appear hereinbelow.